Small town living... like it/hate it?

I live about 40 miles south of STL. My town is so small it doesn't even have it's own post office anymore. My plan is to move about another 30 miles south, so that my town is actually a couple hundred acres of woods.

 

I wrote a book report on Jim Thorpe in the 5th grade

 

It's not for everyone. Small town living can be very nice if you have reasonable access to a larger town with plenty of stores and services. It is also important to buy locally whenever possible. A town of 4800 needs all the business its merchants can get - which helps maintain a healthy business district, critical to the quality of life in the town.

But - don't move there unless you have a job FIRST.

I grew up in a small university town of 25,000 and my wife is from a farming town of 2500. I think my minimum town size would be a bit larger than 4800.

 

For the most part, I love small town living (and I'm actually a Pennsylvanian). But as you state, there are some shortcomings, namely not always having access to a major economic center, which has its pitfalls when it comes to shopping and employment - and anecdotally-speaking, the latter issue is exacerbated by what I see as a greater instance of nepotism in employment decisions, since "good ol' boys" networks seem to be more prominent in rural areas. Also, IME, lifestyles are less...cosmopolitan...for a lack of a better word in rural areas. There's greater homogeneity in the population, and sad to say the stereotype does hold true: a lot of closed-mindedness at times.

What I do like is less traffic, less noise, less pollution, and beautiful scenery. Ideally, I'd like to eventually move to a rural area - not a suburb - that is local to a larger town, although not necessarily a city.

 

Hated it, now I miss it.

Although I wouldn't miss it if I had a car. I miss the proximity to nature; rivers to go canoeing or kayaking, hiking, backroads road-cycling, mountain-biking, etc. There's still all those elements very close to this (small-ish, 500~K) city but without a car that's rendered moot.

I could see myself living here in Quebec City or close to it for ever if I can land a good job. If I had a vehicle with a canoe/kayak/bicycle rack this place would be the best of both world. The city life, bakeries, coffee shops, museum, etc. as well as the "proximity" to nature.

But Quebec is weird, it's a mixture of small and not so small.

 

Also, forgot to mention: A good band can get work much easier in rural areas than a good band in the city, where you're essentially a small fish in a big pond. The catch-22, however, is that finding good players is also harder in the less densely populated areas.

 

born and raised in san antonio texas ,
but recently moved out to pipe creek ,
and i absolutely love it .
www.movoto.com/neighborhood/tx/pipe-creek/78063.htm


don't know how i was able to cope with the traffic and noise of the big city all those years ...

 

I live 40 miles south of STL, but I work on the northern tip of STL. It's a 53 mile ride into work every morning. Takes about 45-50 minutes. I have access to whatever anyone else has access to. There are regular grocery stores within 6 miles of my house and there are malls within 22 miles of my house. I am 30 minutes from a Guitar Center.

After my 45 minute drive home, I walk through my front door, out my back door and into that river right there, which my back yard ends at. Worth it? Hell yes.

 

The housing is getting crazy in the city, you should move here quickly before it gets out of control!

In the sector I like the most (Sillery) a bungalow goes for around 4-500k.

 

If 500K is small I don't know how to respond to this thing.

 

I paid less than 60k for my house.

 

It's not, but this particular city is so blown out that there's a few areas with the "concrete jungle" feeling and others where you feel like you're in the country or the suburbs. There's also the old part of the city that fits in neither, it has its own feeling.

 

It's not run down by any stretch of the imagination. About 1000 sq. feet, sitting on an acre, property ends at the river. Never floods, but it is in a flood plain.


Property values are a funny thing. This same house in west St. Louis County would run about 250k or better. And I'd have ***holes for neighbors.

 

How strange I also live in pipe creek which is about 30 miles outside of San Antonio. Been here 20+ years and love it. Close enough to the city but far enough not to see or hear it!!

 

Just moved back to the country/small town after living in the suburbs for 6 years. Missed it. Love it. Now instead of being 5 minutes from work (downtown Harrisburg) I'm 45 minutes. But I've got a big yard and my daughter has a nice place to grow up.

A few months ago...but this is the view out my front door:



And winter time: